Van Helsing

Van Helsing first appears in the Horror Of Dracula as being superior straight away as the scene within the tavern displays all the males and female glaring towards him showing signs of superiority and authority. Van Helsing is objected as being different to the other characters within this scene as his clothing is more sophisticated unlike the other characters more ordinary/casual dressing. This could be perceived as a higher social class and wealth as his general persona and language used is more desirable.


In addition the film is set in 1958 and therefore any type of doctor was deemed exceptionally intelligent and possessed a high level of authority and power. However this was shortly contradicted by the on-slaughter  of question about his best friend Harker and Dracula which shows a sign of Van Helsing subjecting his power and authority as the Inn keeper had a hinder of hesitation within his voice when both of the names where mentioned alarming Van Helsing.
In addition Van Helsing is perceived as extremely smart as he uses his genuineness to make the other characters unconsciously abide by him therefore he shows traits of being extremely suttley manipulative. Lastly he is also represented as being lightly heroic as he leaves the tavern knowing the risk that is alongside trying to kill Dracula but still braves on for the journey to his castle.


In conclusion Van Helsing is represented as an extremely powerful, superior and slightly manipulative character throughout the film. This has been implemented with the consistent high camera shots of him and most of the characters confining in him which shows a degree of respect and authority. lastly he is deemed to be very persuasive and smart as he made Arthur Holmwood help him for the search for Dracula against his will.  

Dracula Question

DRACULA-Question
Plan- Why are females inferior & sexualised beings
cannot fend for themselves and need physically/mentally protecting
The have no power or authority over the counter partners
Traditional house wife's (1958 time period main stream amount of women didn't work/ tended the children)
The rights of women where dismissed/ time film was set
Women represented as slightly provocative- Sexualised features e.g clothing, typography
Ties in with codes and conventions of a virgin survives (purity)

Women are perceived in this film as being inferior and to a certain degree helpless in context to Dracula as the type of cinematography is used to implement power and authority. Throughout the film the women are positioned to the audience in a low and slightly canted angle shot to display the dominance over their counter partners. This displays to an extent that women are incapable and powerless to defend themselves and therefore need males (Dracula) to fend for them.

In addition there is elements of genderistic rivalry as we envelop the idea that women are weaker and have a lower class of authority within society as females are subjected to obey and carry-out tasks which they are treated to a degree as a "rag doll". This has been proven as we witness Dracula toss the Vampire women as an object across the fore-room.

However in relation to the "Male Gaze Theory" this has been heavily applied as we are subjected to the film from a male prospective and this therefore creates commonality of female nudity which helps solidify that women are sexualised beings. Although, this theory also relates to the way in which the female characters have been presented and therefore we can clearly identify traits such as the tone of language and costume to how this makes them personalized property to the dominant male genders, this can be identify with the relationship between Arthur and Mina Holmwood.The second point that I stumbled upon was how women where represented as traditional house wife's and are incapable of maintaining a job. This showed a proportion of egotistical behavior towards the females in this film as it was set in 1958 and therefore has been created shortly after world war 2. This carried the traditional features that women purely had one purpose and that was to stay and home and provide for their family and children.

Similarly, females are also depicted as being non-resistant and therefore this has been supported by Dracula being able to bite them and the female characters unable to escape the grasp of Dracula. This implements signs of weakness and debilitation as they are in some circumstances in the guidance of male dominance.

The last distinction that has clearly been shown in The Horror Of Dracula is the stereotypical roles that both genders usually abide by. This film clearly substitutes the women into playing a role of a "House Wife" and displays obvious female characteristics such as tending to the children and keeping the house hold in order. However this is the complete opposite to the males perception of characteristics as they are seen as hero's embracing danger and solving the narrative making them seem superior to the females.

On the contrary characters are represented in terms of genre characteristics, this has therefore been used within this horror film as we see the "helpless" women unable to defend themselves when danger occurs. This theme has consistent occurred throughout the duration of the film as all three women get attacked and non other them can protect themselves against count Dracula and therefore displays elements of inferior qualities and also sexualisation as males have to accompany them. This interlinks with the Male Gaze theory as the story is perceived from a male prospective and therefore these small representations are amplified to evoke an opinion on the females with in the film.

Lastly the sound used helps display a sense of authority as Dracula does not speak throughout most of the film but his on-screen presence is on a large magnitude as a type of perpetuated sound helps establish Dracula's arrival and his authority and importance he possess.

Finally, this film abides by codes and conventions as it supplements obvious traits such as the pure (virgin) survives against all odds. This also in ties with the rule of 3 which means that events happen in 3s and this has been displayed as there was 3 attacks and 3 main characters and so forth. by following these codes and conventions it has enabled the film to meet horror genre criteria's and therefore like most horror film exploit females into being sexualised and "desperate" for survival.

Hammer Studio

Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies – and in later years, television series. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Bros.

Hammer Film Productions
is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies – and in later years, television series. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Bros.

Hammer studios have currently produced over 211 films including the main titles such as the curse of frankinstien and the horror of dracula

The Male Gaze Laura Mulvey

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Laura Mulvey

Before talking about the male gaze, it is first important to introduce its parent concept: the gaze. According to past studies the gaze is a concept used for “analysing visual culture… that deals with how an audience views the people presented.” The types of gaze are primarily categorized by who is doing the looking.

While the ideas behind the concept were present in earlier uses of the gaze, the introduction of the term “the male gaze” can be traced back to Laura Mulvey and her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” which was published in 1975. In it, Mulvey states that in film women are typically the objects, rather than the possessors, of gaze because the control of the camera (and thus the gaze) comes from factors such as the as the assumption of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres. While this was more true in the time it was written, when Hollywood protagonists were overwhelmingly male, the base concept of men as watchers and women as watched still applies today, despite the growing number of movies targeted toward women and that feature female protagonists.

City of God analysis

How do cinematic codes of sound and editing combine to create meaning within the opening sequence of City of God?

The “City of God” uses sound and editing to increase the pace of the film by stringing together numerous amounts of different camera angles and positions. There is evidence of this as on several occasions close-ups have been used to signify sections such as Rockets face; feet and other rudimentary  equipment so that  we, as the audience can grasp the characters emotions and understand the surrounding local region. The film also gives us an insight to the cultural and historical background of the Favela as we see small captions that have been closely cut together to create a montage of knives been sharpened and chickens being cooked on coal fires within a regular Brazilian market which has been given a Diegetic sound to create a natural and real life atmosphere.

The use of sound with in this film has been composed effectively as there are elements of both Diegetic and non-Diegetic features. The use of non-Diegetic sound has transformed this scene, as it over dramatizes events such as the chicken running through the streets of the Favela with the sound of music that is more suitable for a chase rather than the tribal/carnival type of music which was initially played; this also strongly correlates to the on-screen imagery as the tempo creates tension. By inserting this type of music we become more secluded into this chase and begin to position ourselves within the film. On the contrary City of God also uses Diegetic sound which amplifies real life sounds such as the sharpening of the knives and the clucking of the chicken in order to create distinctions between future events.(knives are been sharpen to kill chickens)

The last segment of the film is the impact of cinematography which drastically affects how the audience distinguish events. We see a low camera angle at the feet of the chicken to make us perceive the chase through the chicken’s point of view; by also using this camera position we feel as if we are running as the camera stability is ragged and in-corporates the audience further into the film. In addition we begin to realise that within the slums of the Favela a chickens life is equivalent to a human’s life. However, another captivating piece of camera work has been showed when an aerial snippet of the Favela following the chicken has been done which instigates a meaning that somebody is always watching and there’s no place to hide.

The last part of City Of God utilise space and time as we find ourselves situated in the middle of a stand of between Ze’s gang and the police. To maximise this scene all of the filming elements are used together to make the scene as captivating as possible; A 360° angle shot has been used to in-corporate all of the surrounds in addition to Rockets expressions which is then slow motioned with flash backs of his childhood to give the audience an insight to Rockets feeling which is supported with the message “If you run they get you and if you stay they get you.”

Dracula

How is the castle an inviting prison?

In the 1958 version of “The horror of Dracula” the castle that establishes the location of the film is seen as an inviting prison as the décor is extremely gloomy and is supported by the lighting used; this is particular film extremely exploits Rembrandt light (light coming from a source within a scene) which is useful in creating a creepy and sinister atmosphere. However, the outside the of the castle is extremely different as it shows the castle in a magnificent way with the camera capturing the beautiful mountain and waterfall.  In general the film creates a sense deceptive ideology of how the film will portray characters such as Dracula and his mistress with different personas. 

Dracula is a sexual predator?

Dracula can be perceived as a sexual predator as he deems himself as a more superior standard compared to the natural being. In the film we interpret Dracula as only victimising females and therefore we see him “shoving” his mistress to the ground as a type of sexual item and servant. This shows that he has domination over women in the film and they abide by his command. 

Women are inferior and sexualised beings?

Women are considered sexualised beings within Dracula as they have been presented as they need to be “looked after” by a male authority and therefore shows that they are a product and inferior to the males with the film. They also are perceived as weak and helpless characters as in the film Dracula attacks them (bites) and the females seem to be useless against the male domination. However, a different light can be shun upon this opinion as the scene within the tavern a female is represented in a lower social and physical standard as her opinion is considered in-ignorance but shows qualities of a defiant as she bypasses her tavern keeper and gives the book to the travelling man.